Orchid Modern by Marc Hachadourian
As Heard on The Daily Gardener Podcast:
Today's book recommendation: Orchid Modern by Marc Hachadourian
Marc Hachadourian is the senior curator of the incredible orchid collection at the New York Botanical Garden, and his book, Modern Orchids, is outstanding. The subtitle for the book is Living and Designing with the World’s Most Elegant Houseplants - so true, Marc.
You can read for yourself in Marc's book about the history of orchids and all the different types of orchids, but most of us want to know the answer to one or two questions like 'How do I keep my orchids happy and healthy?" and "How do I get them to rebloom?"
To Marc, the answers to those questions are pretty straightforward.
Marc teaches us what orchids need by training us to answer the following six questions about our orchids:
Does the location have natural sunlight?
How strong is the sunlight?
How long does the location, receive natural light each day?
What temperatures will there be throughout the year? In the daytime? In the night?
Is the air constantly dry or doesn't have some moisture
And finally, how often will I water and care for the plants?
Essentially, we simply need to understand the growing conditions that orchids prefer to grow them successfully.
If you have an orchid lover in your family, this is the book for them. It would make a lovely Christmas present.
In addition to learning how to care for the orchids, you will get Marc's top picks for orchids, and he has 120 of them.
Marc also shares some pretty amazing projects that will add to your home's decor, including terrariums, wreaths, and kokedama. There's also a project that teaches us to make a stunning orchid bonsai tree. Marc's crafts and projects are a level up from what you typically see in a gardening book.
Marc's work provides a level of sophistication and elegance that I have not seen in a garden book in some time. I'm so appreciative when I can look at a project and learn something—whether it's a new tool or product I can source for making my own floral arrangements.
So, hats off to Marc for tackling a subject that most of us feel we could use more help with (orchids) and not dumbing it down.
Marc shares super-helpful pro-insights and modern options for incorporating our most beloved houseplant: orchids.
SI HORTUM IN HORTORIA PODCASTA IN BIBLIOTEHCA HABES, NIHIL DEERIT.
